The University of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics department held its annual Golden Goldys awards, tonight at TCF Bank Stadium. Student-athletes shared the wealth as a variety of programs and individuals received top honors.
The Golden Goldys voting process includes spring sports of 2018 (baseball, men's and women's golf, rowing, softball, men's and women's outdoor track & field and men's and women's tennis) and the fall and winter sports of the 2018-19 athletic year. This year's banquet marked the 13th Golden Goldys gala and the 30th year of the Scholar Athlete banquet. The two banquets consolidated in 2010 and recognizes both the athletic and academic achievements of its 700 student-athletes.
Jordan Murphy and Lexy Ramler were named the Golden Goldy male and female athlete of the year. Murphy closed out his Gopher career as an All-Big Ten first team selection, by the media and second team selection by the coaches. Also receiving All-District honors from the NABC and USBWA, Murphy led the Big Ten in rebounding with 11.0 boards per game, ranking seventh nationally, and was second in the country and conference leader with 21 double-doubles. Murphy is the Gophers' second all-time leading scorer with 1,802 career points, and is the school's leading rebounder with 1,307 boards, second all-time in Big Ten history.
Ramler became the Gophers' first gymnast to earn First Team All-America honors in four events in a single season. The national co-runner up in the All-Around and the Uneven Bars, Ramler was also named the North Central Region Gymnast of the Year. The Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, Ramler claimed Big Ten champion honors on both the Beam and All-Around. Named a First Team All-Big Ten selection, Ramler was also named the Big Ten gymnast of the week six times.
The Big Ten Medal of Honor went to track and field's Temi Ogunrindeand men's gymnastics' Justin Karstadt. Ogunrinde is the two-time defending Big Ten Conference hammer throw champion. She earned All-America accolades in hammer throw last spring and holds the Big Ten Championship record, Big Ten Conference record, and Minnesota program record in hammer throw with a mark of 67.45 meters (221-03 feet). Ogunrinde completed her undergraduate degree in non-profit and entrepreneurial management in the Carlson School of Management and is currently continuing her education with a master of public policy degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Karstadt closed out his Gopher career earlier this month when he earned his fourth All-America honor. A three-time All-Big Ten honoree, Karstadt helped the Gophers to their first-ever Big Ten regular season title. He was also a finalist for the Nissen-Emery Award, which is given to the top men's collegiate gymnast. Also competing for Team Canada, Karstadt is a two-time national champion on the pommel horse. A kinesiology major, Karstadt is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a three-time College Gymnastics Association First Team All-American Scholar.
Karstadt and hockey's Nicole Schammel received Lindahl Academic Center Outstanding Achievement Award. This honor is presented to one male and one female student-athlete and their success in both the classroom and athletics. Schammel is set to graduate next month with her master of education in sports management, having completed her bachelor of science in business and marketing education degree last year. In addition to her success in the classroom, she was also a 2019 Patty Kazmaier Top-10 finalist and member of this year's WCHA regular season champion and national runner-up team. Karstadt is set to graduate this spring with his bachelor of science in kinesiology degree. In addition to his success in the classroom, he's a 2019 Nissen-Emery Award finalist and a four-time All-American on the pommel horse and parallel bars.
Ogunrinde and swimming's Jeremy Moser were awarded the Land O'Lakes Outstanding Achievement Award in Leadership and Service. Selected by Land O'Lakes, this award is given to one male and one female student-athlete who are accomplished in the areas of leadership and volunteerism. During her time at Minnesota, Ogunrinde was the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, a member of Athletes in Action and has volunteered over 107 hours of community service work. Moser is a SAAC executive board member and has helped with a variety of special projects because of it. He also recently attended the Big Ten Conference SAAC meeting as a Gopher representative.
John Anderson and Gopher baseball took home the men's coach and team of the year. For the first time in program history, the Gopher baseball team advanced to a NCAA Super Regional appearance. The Gophers won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament championship. In 2018, Minnesota owned a 44-15 record, which ranked third-most in program history. The Gophers ranked 17th nationally in batting average, which led the Big Ten, and held the 10th-best earned run average. Anderson received his eighth Big Ten Coach of the Year award and third Region Coach of the Year, while the Gophers claimed three All-America honors, five All-Region selections and seven All-Big Ten Awards.
Women's hockey was named the female team of the year. The Gophers finished the season as both the NCAA and WCHA Final Faceoff runners-up, and gathered the program's 10th WCHA regular season title. During the 2018-19 campaign, Minnesota went 32-6-1 overall and 19-4-1 in league action. In all, six Gophers earned conference honors as the program made its 14th Frozen Four appearance.
Track & field's Matt Bingle took home the women's team coach of the year award. Bingle coached 12 Gophers to 13 All-America honors and 10 NCAA top-15 finishes at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Named the Big Ten and Midwest Region Coach of the Year, Bingle coached the team to 2018 Big Ten Outdoor Conference title. It marked Minnesota's third outdoor title as the Gophers had two Big Ten champions and 10 All-Big Ten honorees.
Wrestling's Gable Steveson and volleyball's Adanna Rollins took home the rookie of the year honors. Steveson finished third at the NCAA Championships and second at the Big Ten Tournament in his freshman campaign. He led the Gophers with a 35-2 record as he defeated 16 Big Ten wrestlers, also a team best. He stormed onto the collegiate scene when he produced 30-straight wins. As a freshman, Rollins jumped into the starting rotation and was named an All-America honorable mention. Rollins averaged 2.59 kills per set and 2.68 digs per set, which ranked third on the team. For her efforts, she was named the North Region Freshman of the Year, a VolleyballMag.com Freshman All-American, a Big Ten All-Freshman selection and Second Team All-Big Ten honoree.
Taylor Morgan (volleyball) and Seth Green (football) took home the breakthrough athlete of the year awards. Morgan battled through four knee surgeries for a chance to play in the Gophers' starting lineup. As a red-shirt junior, Morgan went from playing 42 sets to 103 and amassed 249 kills. She became a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection and was an AVCA All-America honorable mention. Green played one game in 2017 to 13 in the 2018 season. Playing both as quarterback and receiver, Green rushed 76 times for 282 yards and eight touchdowns. He completed 4-of-5 passes for 36 yards and two touchdowns. He also received the team's Tony Dungy Character and Community Service Award.
Football's Casey O'Brien and women's hockey's Taylor Williamsonreceived the Richard "Pinky" McNamara Student-Athlete Achievement Award, given to individuals who have inspired all by making an extraordinary effort to succeed despite difficult circumstances, persevering during a time of tremendous adversity and/or overcoming a great challenge. Despite battling cancer for the fourth time, O'Brien has continued to participate in football practices and games while also achieving at a high academic level while pursuing his degree through the Carlson School of Management. Taylor Williamson was diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disease at the start of her junior year that many thought would mean she would never play hockey again. Through her dedication and perseverance, she not only returned to the ice less than six months after her diagnosis, she would go on to score the game winning goal to send her team to the NCAA for the third time in her career.
The Outstanding Academic Team Awards were presented to the men and women's teams representing both the large and small team categories. Large teams are made up of 22 members or more, while small teams are made up of 21 members or fewer and includes the grade point averages of the past spring and fall semesters. The women's small team winner was softball and the large team winner was women's cross country. On the men's side, it was men's tennis(small) and men's hockey (large).
The Top Five Award recognizes the five highest grade point averages by male and female student-athletes. On the women's side: Mariam Khamis (swimming), Megan Hasz (cross country), Bethany Hasz (cross country), Abigail Kargol (cross country) and Meleah Biermaier (track & field); while the men's teams included: Alec Basten (cross country, Alan LeBlang (swimming), Jeremy Moser (swimming), Miles Patton(wrestling) and Benjamin Winkel (gymnastics).
Soccer was awarded the Gladys Brooks Commitment to Academic Excellence Award, as men's hockey was awarded the Norman Borlaug Commitment to Academic Excellence Award. April Bockin (soccer) and Alan LeBlang (swimming) were both given the Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship.
The teammate of the year award went to Skeeter Burroughs, who oversees 325 members of the Gopher marching band. Attending nearly 80 events annually, Burroughs has only missed one football game in the past 28 years and directs the pep band at basketball, hockey and volleyball.
The Tom H. Swain Campus Recognition Award was given this year to the University Office of Information Technology as Phoebe Johnson, Mary Boyer and Peter Oberg received the award.